Alessi's delightful Christmas figurine
Well, 'tis the season, yet again!
With one more week left until Christmas, Monaco will swell this weekend with visitors searching for just the right gift for everyone on their list.
It's quite easy to find all sorts of luxury goods here and if you don't have much time, it's tempting to duck into the nearest boutique, toss the clerk a credit card for some expensive crystal thingamajig and call it a day.
Well, if you don't have that sort of budget or you'd like to put more thought into your gift giving and support local businesses at the same time, here are some interesting and reasonably priced gifts that I personally would love to see under my tree on Christmas morning. Hint!
I've included links and contact info so you can zip right over and check these things out for yourselves.
It's quite easy to find all sorts of luxury goods here and if you don't have much time, it's tempting to duck into the nearest boutique, toss the clerk a credit card for some expensive crystal thingamajig and call it a day.
Well, if you don't have that sort of budget or you'd like to put more thought into your gift giving and support local businesses at the same time, here are some interesting and reasonably priced gifts that I personally would love to see under my tree on Christmas morning. Hint!
I've included links and contact info so you can zip right over and check these things out for yourselves.
Even if you're not heading to Monaco to do your Christmas shopping, there may still be something on my list that you can find near you, especially if you have foodies to buy for.
Happy holidays!
1. A Modern Crèche and Christmas Tree Ornaments from Alessi
Forget that mangy old manger with the baby Jesus in a hay strewn cradle. Alessi, with their slick Italian designed wares has created a beautifully styled, chic crèche. Every year they design new santons
to add to the manger scene and this year's new little dog and cat are
simply adorable. They also have a line of irresistible Christmas tree
ornaments.
Top Cuisine 19 rue Princesse Caroline, Monaco 93 30 02 00
Segraeti Metropole Shopping Center, 17, Avenue des Spélugues, Monaco 97 77 34 30
2. Fine Japanese Tea, Food, and Objet d'Art
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| GIfts beautifully wrapped, a good fortune cat and a hand made knife |
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| HIgh quality Japanese tea and tea ware to go with it |
Just behind the Monaco train station in Beausoleil is a little gem called Zen Shop Japon.
When you step inside this spotless, pretty shop, it's as though you've travelled to Tokyo without the jet lag!
Inside
you'll find Japanese tea and tea ware, a huge selection of hard to find
sake, beautiful scarves, origami paper, bonsai, hand made knives, and
house wares. They also have a food section with high end fresh and
imported goods that you won't find in the étrangères section in Carrefour.
If you know anyone who loves green tea, especially Japanese Sencha, Gyokuro, Hojicha, Genmaicha or Matcha, you should buy it here. They carry a brand called Tamayura and it's some of the best and freshest I've ever tasted.
I
had the good fortune to meet Tamayura's Parisien-based tea master, Mr
Olivia Leclerc who was showcasing Tamayura's teas in the Zen Shop Japon booth at the Monaco Gastronomy Fair in early December. It was the highlight of the show for me.
Best
of all, the store clerk can create a beautiful gift basket and wrap
your purchases like they do in the best boutiques in Japan, free of
charge.
Zen Shop Japon 5, ave d'Alsace, Beausoleil 04 93 52 15 03 The shop is open non-stop, Monday to Saturday.
3. Fabulous Kitchen Utensils from Rösle
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| Shiny, durable kitchen utensils from Rösle |
I bought a Rösle
garlic press over 7 years ago and whenever my guests use it, their eyes
light up. It's beautiful to look at, easy to use and clean, it's
dishwasher safe and crafted from high quality 18/10 stainless steel with
nickel and chrome so after all these years it still looks shiny and
new. I buy them as gifts for friends and family all the time.
They cost a cool €50 but when you consider that they'll last a lifetime, it's a bargain.
My
kitchen drawers are filled with Rösle's other beautiful kitchen
utensils like graters, sieves, small and large mandolin slicers, all of
them useful, well made and beautiful. I love leafing through their catalogue.
Oh, and they're all guaranteed for
5 years.
Segraeti Metropole Shopping Center, 17, Avenue des Spélugues, Monaco 97 77 34 30
4. Cards, Gift Wrap and Art Supplies from Monaco Beaux-Arts
Store
owners Bernadette, her husband Fabrice and their daughter Fabienne are
all talented artists and I love visiting their shop whenever I need some
artistic inspiration, a fine pen, or to have something valuable framed.
Fabienne
has created stunning greeting cards that are works if art, suitable for
framing as a keepsake. I've bought her beautiful cards to send to
friends and family as a gift all their own or with a little something
inside.
If you'd like to kick up your gift wrapping a notch, they
have a great selection of unique gift wrapping, ribbons, Christmas
cards, and craft supplies to make your own decorations.
Bernadette also speaks English and she is full of ideas and suggestions.
Let her know Jennifer sent you!
Monaco Beaux-Arts 25 rue de Millo, Monaco 97 77 16 65
5. Neige. Canadian Apple Ice Wine
You may have heard of or maybe even tasted Canadian Ice Wine made from grapes but this Ice Wine called Neige is made from apples.
Neige
is produced in Quebec from ripe apples that have been picked in the
Fall and stored until December. The apples are then pressed and the
juice is frozen. In the cold Quebec temperatures, the water in the
juice crystallizes and the sugary, intense apple liquid separates from
the ice crystals. The resulting juice is placed in steel tanks and
fermented for 8 months at low temperatures and then bottled. It takes
more that 6kg of apples to make 1L of cider.
Its taste is bright,
balanced, and quite different from traditional Ice Wine. It makes an
excellent aperitif and pairs naturally well with cheese.
You can find Neige from Mr Gadoury, a fine Canadian gentleman and ardent Montreal Canadians hockey fan who is the local distributor for Neige based in Nice. This would be a cool gift for someone who would appreciate unusual and rare sweet wines. Neige is not widely available in France yet so whomever you give it to will be ahead of the curve.
La Face Cachée de la Pomme pgadoury@lafacecachee.com
6. A Ukelele
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| Release his or her inner Don Ho |
Come
on, haven't you always wanted a ukulele? With four strings it's easier
to play and tune than a guitar and more portable too so you can bring
it to parties along with your bongos.
If you do give one to someone on Christmas morning, he or she could probably plink out a tune before dinner time. I found a ukelele instructional video on YouTube that's had 2.1 million hits so he or she will be in good company.
To celebrate the holidays, you can try your hand at learning Mele Kilikemaka, a traditional Hawaiian Christmas song. I'm getting one for Hubby.
La Flute De Pan, 21, boulevard Princesse Charlotte, Monaco 93 50 92 13
7. Sublime Walnuts
I
don't know about you but I seem to eat a lot of walnuts. I put them in
salads, eat them with cheese courses, bake with them, toast them to add
to my caramels, and munch on them as is when I'm hungry. Every
year I buy about 10 kg in the shell and I crack them while hubby
and I watch Downton Abbey. Cracking them myself is the only way I know of to get fresh
walnuts.
The best walnuts I've ever tasted are available right
here in Monaco from Gilbert, the egg seller in the Place d'Armes market and they cost only €8 per kilo. I've tasted walnuts from both Grenoble and the
Perigord, regions famous for their walnuts but I think Gilbert's
are better, especially this year. He grows them at his farm in
Sospel and because it was so dry this summer their flavour is
particularly sweet and intense. He usually sells out by the end of
December.
To give a simple gift of walnuts more oomph, I've
presented the walnuts in vase and added a nut cracker. The nut cracker I
own is pictured and available in most grocery stores or on Saturdays
from most French outdoor markets like Menton. It's not chic, more
"downstairs," but it's fabulous to use, especially it you have a lot of
nuts to crack. If you'd like a more glamorous nut cracker, Manufacture de Monaco
in The Metropole Shopping Centre has a very elegant one with leather
covered handles. It's definitely an "upstairs" nut cracker.
If
their talented dog "Happy" is there, ask if you can give him a walnut.
Happy cracks them with his teeth, separates the walnut from its shell
and eats the nut!
Gilbert & Son, Place d'Armes Market, Monaco Tuesday to Sunday, 07:00-12:30.
8. Pottery from Monaco's Association Monegasque des Handicapes Moteurs
It may not be Wedgewood or Christofle but this charming and inexpensive crockery is hand made by members of the Association Monegasque des Handicapes Moteurs at their headquarters in Monaco-Ville.
No two pieces are alike so you can be sure that whatever you give will be unique.
The proceeds from the sale of their pottery goes towards supporting projects for the handicapped in Monaco.
Now that's the true spirit of giving.
Merry Christmas!
